Fiat 132 - Engine bay question....?

[kev131]

I'm considering this 132 and I'm a bit puzzled as to why the engine bay has been painted black. The rest of the car is incredibly shiny and vivid which suggests that it has been recently painted but I don't understand the black paint here. It's very mat which suggests an anti-corrosion measure but I'm wondering if there is a more sinister reason such as covering up poor body repairs. Any thoughts..? The blue air box is another puzzler as are the unpainted bonnet hinges... . The writing on the cam cover could be from when the cam belt was last changed or ....could have been a means of identifying the engine while it lay on it's side in a breaker's yard ...awaiting a new home...? Am I being too suspicious..?

[miro-1980]

Kev

It it is too good to be true , it is not true ....

The hinges worry me .. they must have been replaced after the car was painted  ....

Re black engine may : I have seen people doing it to protect it from rust , blue air box - some people have no taste , but . if you encounter all of these in one car there must have been something wrong with the owner or ... with the car .... ( or possibly both)

Watch out ... 


Miro

[mirafioriman]

Certainly the car is not totally original. The hinges could have been replaced as they had seized perhaps, not a big issue in my opinion however the black inner wings could be a potential issue. Even if it is only black anti rust paint on top of good metal to put the car back to its original state would involve a lot of work including removing everything from the engine bay. A potentially expensive job.

However:

If is is a nice example with the colour and spec you want for the price you want to pay then perhaps it is still worth considering.

[bellamacchina]

Kevin,

When it is an italian car, why it has a german id plate under the bonnet?

[mirafioriman]

I'd say it was for sale in Germany Albert. Kev must like it as he has not posted a link to the advert

[kev131]

Kevin,

When it is an italian car, why it has a german id plate under the bonnet?

Good question Albert - I had not spotted that. Maybe our German members can advise....?

Dave - It is in Germany but easily found on Mobile.de. Although you are right in theory - No need to be creating competition for oneself!  

Since posting this I've had a response back on another line of enquiry that I have opened - It's on a car with 11,700 kms from new but the seller wants ?10k for it  

[djape1977]

it's obviously been repainted recently. black engine bay is a matter of taste. i perfer black engine bay in my cars.
post the othr pics of that 132. i havent seen orange one yet 

[mirafioriman]

Just make sure you are first in line for it Kev as strange things can happen. Always worth keeping lines of communication open with the seller just in case.....

[bellamacchina]

I thought this was the 1 in Italy Kevin. German delivered cars wear this badge, so that's correct. I looked at the pictures from the car. Truly shiny but I can understand your worries.

[mirafioriman]

The black engine bay spoils it for me but the rest of the car looks really nice. If it really is as good as it looks certainly worth careful consideration!

[djape1977]

wooden steering wheel is wrong for 132 and i'd still rather buy a car in original colour, even with some cosmetic issues than recently painted car

[sid131]

Kevin i thought you could spot a lemon? its just got painted & they didnt even take the tags off first & its only mat black hiding the surface rust which i can see thats underneath in the 2nd pic between the res & the bottle.

[parrish]

Is that the front seats lurking in the background of the 5th picture?

[kev131]

Kevin i thought you could spot a lemon? its just got painted & they didnt even take the tags off first & its only mat black hiding the surface rust which i can see thats underneath in the 2nd pic between the res & the bottle.

Do you mean an orange Nick? 

The difficulty with assessing a car from photographs is that what needs to be seen can be hidden... and what is seen ...can be exaggerated or mis-represented. I accept that those could be rust bubbles although they could just as easily be lumps in less than perfectly mixed paint. I'd favour the latter as from the standard of paint finish on the car in general, I'd be surprised if rust bubbles had not at least been rubbed down to flat, especially in such an accessible place.

I've asked the relevant questions of the seller and am awaiting a response. There are many other plus points to the car and the cosmetic state overall (including the seats) suggests that the car has been well looked after so I have a bit of a dilemma. 

They are not Fiat 132 seats Steve - Possibly Recaros...?

[sid131]

ok Kev but on both sides the doors are not lined up with the wings properly which could be new wings fitted & not correctly adjusted?? but this could be got right hoping that there is some play with the wings & front doors